How Are Junior College Transfer Students Doing at Senior Institutions?

Sloan, Charles A.; Farrelly, Edward

The progress of junior college students at Northern Illinois University is considered, a brief review of the junior college movement in Illinois is presented, and admission changes related to transfer students are identified. In 1965 a network of community colleges in Illinois was established with a curriculum designed to provide students with university-parallel instruction. Findings show, however, that students transferring from these programs to senior institutions have lower grade point averages than those students who attended a four-year school as freshmen ("natives"). A second study was conducted comparing native and transfer elementary and elementary/special education graduates. Among findings of this study was that ACT composite scores were significantly lower for transfer junior college students than for either natives or students transferring from four-year institutions. It was concluded that the difference seems to disappear the longer junior college transfer students remain at the senior institution, and that students with motivation have an excellent chance of success. (PHR)